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Debra Collett's Page

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It’s one of my favorite seasons. Of course it’s the holidays, but it’s also time to teach one of my favorite topics in American History-the Road to Revolution. I love this era so much not only for its excitement and concentration of iconic historic figures and events, but also because it offers such a dynamic opportunity to…See More

I didn’t post anything last week because I was rushing to get my new book, HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek ready to distribute in time to be used for your Colonial Unit. I’m thrilled to announce that the e-version is now available at…See More

Teaching About the 13 English Colonies The Colonial Era is one of my favorite periods to teach. It is so dynamic, with so many forces at play. It formed the foundation on which all of the United States’ history and future is built. It is very important for us to help our students make these connections. In this post I will share some ideas for teaching about this exciting era when all was new in America. Visit http://www.historyquesters.com for…See More

My next post will be on teaching about the Era of Colonization. Right now I amworking on a student and teacher’s manual to go along with my new novel,History Questers’ Colonies Trek, so I am fully immersed in the Colonial Period.I have created many engaging activities for teaching about the 13 EnglishColonies. I will save most for the manual, but I want to share a Readers’Theatre that I wrote based on the novel. Information about it and how to downloadit for free may be found at…See More

This post is for my friends that begin their American History course with a Reconstruction Unit. I will share lesson ideas that I used during my years of teaching Part 2 of U.S. History and in my AP class. In my Part 2 U.S. History classes, it had been several years since students had taken the first half of U.S. History…See More

Teaching About Pre-Columbian Native American Cultures It’s time to plan that first social studies unit. Some of us have the lesson plan pretty much handed to us by the state or district, and told not to veer off of it. Others are given standards as guidelines, but are left to our own creativity and students’ needs to determine how we will teach them. Some of us fall in between. If you are in the first group, you’re probably not looking for new ideas, but if you’re in the latter group—this…See More

The Age of Exploration…oh such a big topic and so little time to teach. Most scope and sequences don’t provide for a lot of time-or a lot of depth on this subject in American history classes. Fortunately it is also taught in the World history curriculum so the burden is split. In this post I will share ideas that can be used in both courses at the middle grade and high school levels, and sprinkle in some tips and resources for elementary. To see details about the following activities and…See More

"I have started a blog for teaching social studies and literacy. There are lots of resources for K-12 on the website. My two most recent posts are on First Week of School activities and on Teaching about Native American culture groups. Come by and…"

Welcome Primary Educators! Teaching students from ages 5 to 14 requires loads of subjects to cover and loads of resources to share. Join this group to reflect about your classes and brainstorm ideas for improvement.See More

"I have started a blog especially for social studies teachers called the Social Studies Coach.It will provide instructional strategies and lesson ideas for K-12 Social Studies and literacy gleaned from my many years of experience as a school…"

Debra Collett's Blog

It’s one of my favorite seasons. Of course it’s the holidays, but it’s also time to teach one of my favorite topics in American History-the Road to Revolution. I love this era so much not only for its excitement and concentration of iconic historic figures and events, but also because it offers such a…

I didn’t post anything last week because I was rushing to get my new book, HISTORY QUESTERS Colonies Trek ready to distribute in time to be used for your Colonial Unit. I’m thrilled to announce that the e-version is now available at…

The Colonial Era is one of my favorite periods to teach. It is so dynamic, with so many forces at play. It formed the foundation on which all of the United States’ history and future is built. It is very important for us to help our students make these connections. In this post I will share some ideas for teaching about this exciting era when all was new in America. Visit…

"In the elementary school that I work in, we are VERY limited to the availability of technology. Our 185 students have to share around 80 laptops and chromebooks. And when we do get to use them, it is for a short period of time."